Coachingthis cyclenew
Kirby Moore took over as Washington State's head coach, replacing Jimmy Rogers.
The contextreplaces 4-year head coach Jake Dickert (23-20)
Statusdeveloping
Standing8th in the Pac-12 · 0-5 in conference play · All standings
LeadersPassing Caden Pinnick 952 · Rushing Kirby Vorhees 292 · Receiving Branden Ganashamoorthy 459 All player stats
The nationunrankedAP / Coaches
The model#86 CFB ZeitgeistPublic ratings: SP+ #121 (-14.1) · FPI #99
The marketno line yetBetting line vs Colorado State · our model 55% Washington State
Updated Wed Nov 4 · through week 9
Follow Washington State:athletics sitePac-12YouTube
Schedule and results
Washington State · 2026 schedule and results1-8Hard slateAverage opponent win rate 59% · 2 opponents played so far are in the AP top 25 now.Our rank entering each game: #43 to #84
| Wk | Date | Our rank | Opp rank | Line | Opponent | Result | Record | Conf | Top performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 6 | #43 | #26 | +23.5✓ +9.5 | @Washington | L 10-24 120 Loud | 0-1 | 0-0 | Pass Pinnick 142 · Rush Pinnick 61 · Rec Blood 57 |
| 2 | Sep 12 | #41 | #33 | +17.5✗ −9.5 | @Kansas State | L 7-34 124 | 0-2 | 0-0 | Pass Pinnick 65 · Rush Vorhees 45 · Rec Clemons 27 |
| 3 | Sep 19 | #42 | #205 | −38.5✓ +2.5 | Duquesne | W 48-7 115 | 1-2 | 0-0 | Pass Pinnick 196 · Rush Woods 116 · Rec Ganashamoorthy 67 |
| 4 | Sep 26 | #49 | #28 | +11.5✓ +1.5 | Arizona | L 24-34 145 | 1-3 | 0-0 | Pass Pinnick 241 · Rush Vorhees 39 · Rec Ganashamoorthy 67 |
| 5 | Oct 3 | #50 | #54 | −2.5✗ −22.5 | Fresno State | L 6-26 126 | 1-4 | 0-1 | Pass Pinnick 152 · Rush Vorhees 25 · Rec Clemons 33 |
| 6 | Oct 9 | #63 | #64 | +4✓ +3 | @Utah State | L 16-17 124 | 1-5 | 0-2 | Pass Pinnick 156 · Rush Pulalasi 60 · Rec Leckner 34 |
| 7 | Oct 17 | #75 | #25 | +18.5✓ +0.5 | @Oregon State | L 30-48 151 | 1-6 | 0-3 | Pass Eshelman 289 · Rush Eshelman 136 · Rec Ganashamoorthy 147 |
| 8 | Oct 24 | #74 | #14 | +14.5✗ −6.5 | Boise State | L 10-31 134 | 1-7 | 0-4 | Pass Eshelman 191 · Rush Eshelman 33 · Rec Ganashamoorthy 58 |
| 9 | Oct 31 | #84 | #97 | +2.5✗ −3.5 | @San Diego State | L 20-26 131 | 1-8 | 0-5 | Pass Eshelman 299 · Rush Eshelman 34 · Rec Blood 105 |
| 10 | Bye week | ||||||||
| 11 | Nov 14 | #92 | #118 | Colorado State | 10:30 pm ET · CBS Sports Network55% to win | ||||
| 12 | Nov 21 | @Texas State | 6 pm ET · USA Network12% to win | ||||||
How to read this table
Win chances are our model for Washington State, through 9 games. This week's game comes from the playoff simulation, later games from the rating model. They are estimates and move every week.
The small line beside each score is the team's win chance through the game, drawn on one scale for every game. The small number is total plays.
Line is the closing point spread for Washington State: a minus number means favored. A green check means the team covered it, by the number beside it. A red cross means it fell short by that much.
Advanced box score (EPA, success rate, big plays)▼
| Date | Opp | Result | Yds | TO | TOP | EPA/play | Success% | Big plays (IsoPPP) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 31 | @San Diego State | L 20-26 | 367 | 1 | 33:05 | -0.011 | 50.7% | 0.94 | One-score loss |
| Oct 24 | Boise State | L 10-31 | 244 | 1 | 30:48 | -0.139 | 32.4% | 1.28 | |
| Oct 17 | @Oregon State | L 30-48 | 459 | 1 | 30:40 | +0.278 | 41.5% | 1.40 | Defense's roughest night |
| Oct 9 | @Utah State | L 16-17 | 257 | 2 | 35:40 | -0.093 | 28.6% | 1.14 | One-score loss |
| Oct 3 | Fresno State | L 6-26 | 182 | 2 | 24:01 | -0.433 | 23.0% | 1.02 | Season-low EPA/play |
| Sep 26 | Arizona | L 24-34 | 335 | 2 | 25:58 | -0.085 | 32.4% | 1.47 | Most explosive |
| Sep 19 | Duquesne | W 48-7 | 512 | 1 | 28:16 | +0.330 | 54.7% | 1.29 | Season-high EPA/play |
| Sep 12 | @Kansas State | L 7-34 | 166 | 1 | 25:40 | -0.276 | 25.0% | 1.18 | |
| Sep 6 | @Washington | L 10-24 | 242 | 3 | 30:44 | -0.023 | 31.6% | 1.03 | |
| Season average (9 games) | 307 | 1.6 | -0.050 | 35.5% | 1.19 | ||||
Washington State's wildest games since 2013: comebacks, long shots, line misses
What’s ahead
The forecast
Offense poorDefense softGives up the big play
What fans said
What fans said
Real posts about each game (they name the opponent, a player or a play), chosen by community score · usernames not shown
The games that decide the season
The games that decide the season
Recent form · last 10 games
Washington State has lost six straight.
2-8 over the last 10, and lost the last six.
Streak L6Last 5 · 0-5Last 10 · 2-8
The situational football piece. We didn’t do a good enough job there in the red zone, we didn’t do a good enough job there on fourth down. Everyone’s got a piece of that, and that starts with me
Playoff chance, day by day
<1% now
Our simulation, 20,000 seasons a night, counted from the first full week of games.
1 storyline developing
What Washington State’s coaching hire is really about
The open questioncan a new staff change the trajectory?
How past storylines here turned out
ReplacedWashington State moved on from that hire — a new coaching change began the following season. See who's next →
Died downWashington State's defensive coordinator change has died down — no clear next chapter yet.
ReplacedWashington State's offensive coordinator spot turned over again the following season. See who's next →
Range of outcomes · Washington State · 2026
Range of outcomes · Washington State · 2026Washington State’s most likely season is 4-9, a bowl game. The floor is 2-10; the ceiling is 5-8.
Floor 2-10Ceiling 5-8Base 4-9
1 wins13 wins
What each outcome looks like
Floor2-10No postseason.
Base4-9A bowl game.
Ceiling5-8A bowl game, 1 more win.
Floor, base and ceiling come from the season-path projection, which plays out conference title games and the CFP, so a ceiling can run past 12 games. Every scenario starts from the 1-8 record so far.
How fans reacted
Following now · Washington State · Coaching
New coverage keeps arriving on Kirby Moore at Washington State.
Kirby Moore took over as Washington State's head coach, replacing Jimmy Rogers. It is replaces 4-year head coach Jake Dickert (23-20). The coverage has moved from the hire itself to what followed it. The coverage is divided, and believers and skeptics both cite evidence.
fans are genuinely split
doubt on the left, belief on the right · bigger dot, louder
Skeptics4 doubtful posts
Believers3 upbeat posts
Drama: simmeringFans: 1% volume · negative overall
Developing3 new this week
2 days agoWSU Football Coaches Show with Kirby Moore: Episode 8 · SWX Local Sports
3 days agoJim Moore: Cougs look hopeless but players aren't quitting on Kirby · 247Sports
3 days agoWSU Football: Kirby Moore | San Diego State Postgame | 10/31/26 · Washington State University Athletics
last weekWin total still unmoved 10d after "Oregon State LB out for season"
2 weeks agoWin total — no reprice yet on "Oregon State LB out for season"
The cast who's driving the story · latest headline on each, attributed
Kirby Moore Head coach
“WSU Football Coaches Show with Kirby Moore: Episode 8” — SWX Local Sports · 2026-11-02
Jimmy Rogers Out
Full Presser
“WSU Football: Kirby Moore talks Boise State loss, keeping the locker room motivated, San Diego State preview | Full Presser” — SWX Local Sports · 2026-10-26
Owen Eshelman
“WSU Football: Kirby Moore talks Owen Eshelman's first start, injury updates, Boise State preview | Full Presser” — SWX Local Sports · 2026-10-19
Our read
Believers read the disruption as part of the plan; skeptics read it as a distraction.
Next · what to watch
A coaching change also brings roster churn: the portal and decommitment window stays open long after the introductory press conference. Watch decommitments and portal moves in the next window. That is where the hire's results show up. One board thread already raises this.
Source of record: Kirby Moore took over as Washington State's head coach, replacing Jimmy Rogers — replaces 4-year head coach Jake Dickert (23-20).
How fans are reacting · tap to expand
🎪The circusTop off-field item: “Kirby Moore leaves door open to major WSU changes after ugly…”.›
The off-field storyline drawing the most coverage right now. This section collects the drama around the program, kept apart from the analysis.
“Kirby Moore leaves door open to major WSU changes after ugly loss to Fresno State”
Sports Illustrated · Oct 4 · read ↗
📣Believers3 bullish/hire items making the case that it's working.›
The 'this hire changes everything' takes: new-era believers making the case early.
“Timeouts, fourth downs and tough calls: Kirby Moore trying to navigate head coaching growing pains”
247Sports · Nov 1 · read ↗
“Washington State Postgame: Kirby Moore, Cougar players following loss to No. 21 Boise State”
SWX Local Sports · Oct 25 · read ↗
“WSU Football Coaches Show with Kirby Moore: Episode 8”
SWX Local Sports · Nov 2 · read ↗
🧐SkepticsLeading counter: “Kirby Moore’s first season has been an abject failure”.›
The 'show me the body of work' counter: resume gaps, scheme fits, and 'not that guy' reads.
“Kirby Moore’s first season has been an abject failure”
Yahoo Sports · Oct 27 · read ↗
💬The boards1% of recent board volume, less than the headlines suggest. Board mood this week: negative overall · anger notable (87%).›
This event was in 50 of 5324 board posts (1%) over the last 60 days, a modest share of the conversation. Fan text is shown verbatim and credited to the community it came from; posters stay anonymous.
"They aren’t going to let Moore go after one season. Even with how terrible it’s gone. Brey probably has a multi year contract. Matt Moore better be no where near the offense next s"
r/CFB ~ fan take
"WSU was tied going into the fourth quarter. After watching what transpired after, I am confident in saying that WSU will not win another game all season. WSU's coaching staff has p"
r/wsu ~ fan take
Board health this week (112 posts): 14% positive · 37% neutral · 49% negative. This is the team's mood for the whole week, across all topics. Board posters are a vocal, self-selected slice of the fanbase.
🔗The dominoes10 downstream moves tied to the hire.›
The second-order trail: commits, decommits, portal and staff knock-on from the hire.
“OPPONENT PREVIEW: Washington State staff has strong Boise State connections, starting with Kirby Moore”
Idaho Press · Oct 20 · read ↗
“UCLA transfer quickly emerges as a leader for Washington State”
Yahoo Sports · Oct 6 · read ↗
More in this tab
This week and this season
Worth watching
What it is like to watch them2026 · 1-8
Game feel46rock fightscombined pts / game7th highest-scoring of 8 in the Pac-12
Heart rate0-2some dramain one-score games (2 of 9)6th most one-score games of 8 in the Pac-12
Margin-8.4outgunnedavg scoring margin8th best margin of 8 in the Pac-12
Tempo66average paceoffensive plays / game5th fastest of 8 in the Pac-12
Big plays1.19grind it outexplosiveness (IsoPPP)8th most explosive of 8 in the Pac-12
Home crowd20,348avg attendance6th biggest crowds of 8 in the Pac-12
Measured from 9 games · ranks are among Pac-12 teams the same season
Team story
The weekly grind
Washington State is the program realignment left for dead — when the Pac-12 collapsed, Pullman got abandoned with Oregon State, and the Cougars spent two years as a conference of two before rebuilding the league themselves.
Title DroughtSince 2003 · 23 yrs
Cougar fans watched the bigger schools sprint to richer leagues and leave the loyal ones behind, and they have not forgotten which neighbor pulled the ladder up. They say the ones who ran abandoned…
Game-day weather
Washington State · Game-day weather
Typical at Gesa Field: noon Saturdays score 89, 7:30 pm Saturdays 84
- noon: 89, Mixed
- 3:30 pm: 85, Mixed
- 7:30 pm: 84, Mixed
Typical weather score at each kickoff time.
Tap a dot to read it.
At kickoff, 114 regular-season Saturdays at each kickoff time, 2018 to 2025. Typical means the average of those Saturdays. It is not a forecast.
Weather score: 0 to 100, higher is better, for the first 3 hours and 20 minutes of the game. Ideal is 100, Comfortable 90 to 99, Mixed 75 to 89, Rough 50 to 74, Harsh under 50.
Game day
The experience
Washington State is the Pac-12-collapse holdout — Mike Leach Air Raid legacy + Pullman remoteness + 2024 partnership-with-Oregon-State survival defined the post-conference era.
Offense: PoorDefense: SoftDefensive shape: Gives up the big play
Open questions
The story
Program ledger
The program ledger
since 2025- 2026Hired Kirby Moore
- 2025Jesse Bobbit departs (interim)
- 2025Jimmy Rogers departs
- 2025Hired Jesse Bobbit (interim)
- 2025Hired Jimmy Rogers
Roster and recruiting
Roster
Roster reload: Washington State
2026 snapshot, Nov 4Returning Production91%High continuity
Talent Composite#81 nationally247 composite 630.3
Portal Additions28Primary repair: EDGE
Portal Losses41Primary pressure: LB
Draft Loss0No NFL Draft departures recorded
Recruiting Reload#128Depth class
DLin 5 - Damarjhe Lewisout 7 - Bryson LambStarter Risk
current room: 289 lbs avg (2025 roster)
Nose Anchorcontrols the point of attack and doesn't move
Third program
WRin 4 - Tank Hawkinsout 6 - Tony FreemanStarter Risk
current room: 187 lbs avg (2025 roster)
Possession ReceiverBoom-or-bustmoves the chains on third down his yards come in chunks — feast or famine
Transferred in
EDGEin 5 - Linus Zunkout 3 - Isaac TerrellNeed Filled
current room: 251 lbs avg (2025 roster)
Versatile Endholds up snap after snap without a weakness to attack
Transferred in
CBin 4 - Jalil Tuckerout 4 - Tyrone Cotton IIIEven
current room: 178 lbs avg (2025 roster)
Cover Cornerdoesn't get beat deep and rarely gives up the big play
Third program
Sin 3 - Jshawn Frausto-Ramosout 4 - Damarius RussellDowngrade
current room: 187 lbs avg (2025 roster)
Hybrid Nickel2024 profilemoves between deep coverage and the slot
LBin 1 - Nylan Brownout 4 - Sullivan SchlimgenStarter Risk
current room: 217 lbs avg (2025 roster)
Balanced Linebacker2025 profileis steady in every phase without a signature trait
Full roster (147 players)
CBAJ Davis, CJ Solis-Lumar, Colby Humphrey, David Kuku, Elmo Wartson, Ishmael Gibbs, Jamarey Smith, Jamorri Colson, Kai Rapolla, Khamari Terrell, Nick Norrah
DEBen Beatty, Buddha Peleti, DJ Warner, Fernando Lecuona, Jack Procter, Josh Wedel, Luke Webb, Malachi Wrice, Michael Hughes, Raam Stevenson
DLAkio Martinson, Eduwa Okundaye, Ike Okafor, JaVon Joseph, Linus Zunk, Paul Hutson III, Titus Miller
LBCaleb Francl, Carsten Reynolds, Erimus Wright, Gage Jones, Gavin Barthiel, Gavin Fugate, Isaiah Hung, Jack Ellison, Keith Brown, Lance McGee, Nylan Brown, Parker McKenna
OLAJ Olerich, AJ Vaipulu, Arion Williams, Ashton Tripp, Barry Morrissette, Brock Dieu, Chris Lino, Christian Hilborn, Dylan Hildebrand, Gabe Miller, Gauge Machado, Grayson Campbell, Jaylin Caldwell, Jonny Lester, Jorden Cunningham, Kalolo Ta'aga, Kyle Martin, Maximus McCree, Nick Bakken, Noah Dunham, Sone Falealo, Turner Bertrand, Xavier Thorpe
QBCaden Pinnick, Dalton Anderson, Gavin Gray, Jake Tiryakioglu, Jaxon Potter, Julian Dugger, Owen Eshelman, Zevi Eckhaus
RBAngel Johnson, CJ Toney, Carl Watson III, Dylan Paine, Kirby Vorhees, Leo Pulalasi, Marquez Wimberly, Maxwell Woods, Ryan Salcedo, Travon Pankey, Tre Hill Jr.
TEAdemola Faleye, Beau Baker, Cash Landau, Hudson Cedarland, Jack Pedersen, Jesiah Cornwell, Luke Leighton, Peyton Read, Trey Leckner
WRBranden Ganashamoorthy, Caleb Northcroft, Cameron Weir, Daniel Blood, Darrius Clemons, Devin Ellison, Ethan Masteller, Isaiah Docken, Jay Porter, Jeremiah Noga, Jevon Walker, Jordan Dees, Josh Meredith, Kaden Harken, Leon Neal Jr., Leyton Smithson, Noah Westbrook, Oliver Bender, Ryan McKendry, Tank Hawkins, Tony Freeman, Tristian Drummond
Top commits
Top 1 commits
2027 class
★★★☆☆
Ryan Harrington
#1975 national
Recruiting buzz
r/cfb this year
2027 4* IOL Rashaun Lavata'i commits to Washington State
Top community posts · last 12 months · r/cfb
Fans and ratings
Mood vs. history
↓
Fan confidence lower than any point since 2020
10th percentile among FBS programs
Fans vs. the line
Fan vs. market↓
10th
Fan mood
(percentile among FBS)
(percentile among FBS)
5
Sportsbook win total
(27th among FBS)
(27th among FBS)
Market 17pp more optimistic than fan mood
Win total consensus · 2 books
Rivals
Rival pulse
Washington
Mixed+1
Apple Cup
Fan mood index · most recent r/CFB data
More
Follow
Follow Washington State
- Athletics siteWashington State Athletics
- Athletics siteWashington State football on the athletics site
- Conference pagepac-12.com football
- On YouTubeuser/WSUCougarAthletics
Each link was checked against two outside sites.
This page may include content derived from public news sources, social media, and fan communities. We relay these sources as-is — we are not reporting them. Sources may be summarized or quoted imperfectly; for anything that matters, go look at the original source directly. The original source may also be wrong. Text written by our model says so in a line beneath it, and it can get facts wrong. All analysis is editorial opinion, not professional reporting. Data sources · About this site